"We... perpetuate war by exalting its sacrifices. The least the rest of us can do is to resist honoring the institution."

« Last Edit: May 25, 2015, 02:16:33 PM by bytemaster »

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For the latest updates checkout my blog: http://bytemaster.bitshares.orgAnything said on these forums does not constitute an intent to create a legal obligation or contract between myself and anyone else. These are merely my opinions and I reserve the right to change them at any time.

The simple truth unequivocally delivered makes for a powerful message. It is saddening to witness the truth hurting someone....but it is certainly better that we all value and share in as much truth as possible so that one day, less of it might be a cause for pain and sadness.

"We... perpetuate war by exalting its sacrifices. The least the rest of us can do is to resist honoring the institution."

Surely we honor the troops and not the institution of war itself? Or is that just what they want me to think?

Those who sacrifice for a noble lie still show their own honorable nature. So of course they should be exalted and appreciated. However we can and should always recognize the lies for what they are...because it helps us further our realization of the dangers of said lies...Nothing, to me, is worse than losing honorable people because they sacrifice for the lies of psychopathic, dishonorable ones...who only care about themselves.

"We... perpetuate war by exalting its sacrifices. The least the rest of us can do is to resist honoring the institution."

Surely we honor the troops and not the institution of war itself? Or is that just what they want me to think?

Those who sacrifice for a noble lie still show their own honorable nature. So of course they should be exalted and appreciated. However we can and should always recognize the lies for what they are...because it helps us further our realization of the dangers of said lies...Nothing, to me, is worse than losing honorable people because they sacrifice for the lies of psychopathic, dishonorable ones...who only care about themselves.

That's pretty damn close to being the moral equivalent of "I was only following orders."

There is certainly no glory in that, and perhaps much to be condemned. It is increasingly obvious that to be free people must think for themselves - especially before using violence and coercion on others.

Or better still, NEVER use violence and coercion on others for ANY ideal other than your own defense of your own life, liberty and property. And even then, let's try not to use coercion, let's try to use BitShares instead.

Beyond governments, military establishments and those in the public that misplace their honors, it would be great for the soldiers around the world to find the power & strength in themselves to resist violence against their fellow human beings....

"We... perpetuate war by exalting its sacrifices. The least the rest of us can do is to resist honoring the institution."

Surely we honor the troops and not the institution of war itself? Or is that just what they want me to think?

Those who sacrifice for a noble lie still show their own honorable nature. So of course they should be exalted and appreciated. However we can and should always recognize the lies for what they are...because it helps us further our realization of the dangers of said lies...Nothing, to me, is worse than losing honorable people because they sacrifice for the lies of psychopathic, dishonorable ones...who only care about themselves.

That's pretty damn close to being the moral equivalent of "I was only following orders."

There is certainly no glory in that, and perhaps much to be condemned. It is increasingly obvious that to be free people must think for themselves - especially before using violence and coercion on others.

Or better still, NEVER use violence and coercion on others for ANY ideal other than your own defense of your own life, liberty and property. And even then, let's try not to use coercion, let's try to use BitShares instead.

It is not so cut and dry as that. Unfortunately nothing ever is. In fact, most of the reasons why we know of the lies is because of people who joined up to sacrifice for something they thought was real...just to find out it was a lie. Then they turn around and fight against the lies. They are called whistleblowers and they sacrifice twice...and also have to live with the stress of realizing they strongly supported something that didn't end up being what they were told it was.

So though I cannot disagree with you on much of this, I have learned much throughout my life...and I can truly say that sometimes people need killed. Sometimes people will not stop hurting/killing others until they themselves lose that capacity (which comes from violence). What I DO agree with is that it should always...and I mean ALWAYS be the last resort.

You can't fight for peace. You can't fight for democracy. Democracy is currently a delusion. The 'war on terror' is the paradoxical heart of terror, the life-blood of the war machine. The war machine turns friend into foe, healthy people into dead or damaged people, a healthy environment into a sick environment. When you leave your borders, you are the aggressor. Every act of personal bravery or sacrifice is tarnished by the slime of underlying psychopathic motive. War is an autoimmune disease that destroys the host. War is terror.

"We... perpetuate war by exalting its sacrifices. The least the rest of us can do is to resist honoring the institution."

Surely we honor the troops and not the institution of war itself? Or is that just what they want me to think?

Indeed, this is exactly what "they" want you to think. It is a powerful conflagration of the emotions of nobility and virtue towards those who would sacrifice themselves to protect others, with the actual truth that they are only the aggressive force of evil men with power, made possible through the blind obedience to "authority". They set aside the principle 99% of the people of this planet abide by every day, the Non Aggression Principle, b/c of their trust in authority.

When was the last time you took aggressive action to forcefully take what you did not earn the right to have? When did you last use force to impose your will on someone else against theirs?

Each person must learn to take responsibility for their own choices and actions, and not defer to the will of others. To always question when asked to obey authority.

Unfortunately most of us learn from our parents at a very early age that force is how problems are solved. It is deeply ingrained in us, the seeds of aggressive violence. It will take generations for humanity to unlearn that. It is firmly rooted in humanity's past, in tradition, in religion.

To address fuzzy's post, the NAP allows for the use of force ONLY for self defense. That is when killing is necessary, as a last resort. Watch out for the psychopaths / sociopaths!

to you Ben Mason, Tuck and onceuponatime!

And you too cass! That's the 2nd time you pushed me to use a dictionary today! Right on!

You can't fight for peace. You can't fight for democracy. Democracy is currently a delusion. The 'war on terror' is the paradoxical heart of terror, the life-blood of the war machine. The war machine turns friend into foe, healthy people into dead or damaged people, a healthy environment into a sick environment. When you leave your borders, you are the aggressor. Every act of personal bravery or sacrifice is tarnished by the slime of underlying psychopathic motive. War is an autoimmune disease that destroys the host. War is terror.

'Look at us. Look at what they make you give.'

Definitely agree on this^But must also say that if someone else is the agressor, there must be people who are willing to fight back. The problem is when you leave your boarders to attack. If someone else comes to your home though and wants to rape your wife...you beat him up/kill him (if the latter is necessary). Protecting loved ones from psychopaths sometimes means you have to do things that are not in your own nature.